Plating apparatus



SeptD 15, 1925.

w. w. BENNER PLATING APPARATUS Fled'Dec. 30,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ilrll .Il hun l N VEN TOR.

g77/Rop MEE/win ATTORNEY.

i -lowy it being understood that the invention Patented Sept. 151, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'I'Nrnnor w; lBENNEE; or AKRON, oHIo, AssIeNoR To EInEs'roNE TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY, or AKRON, omo, A coEronA'rIoN oE oHIo.

PLATING ArPAnATUs.

Application led DecemberBO, 1924. Serial No. 758,835.,`

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, VVINTH'Ror W. ENNER,

Va citizen of the United Stateaand a resi-'- dent of Akron, county of Summit, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Plating Apparatus, ofV

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for plating annular articles such as tire rims or the like and particularly to means for inter mittently turning rims ontheir supports while being conveyed through a plating apparatus to insure a uniform plating of the rims.

Heretofore various devices" have been employed in the art with more or less success for turning the rims while suspended in the plating bath and conducted therethrough. The present invention is-direeted to a greatly improved construction by which the mounting of devices within ,the tank controlled from' the outside thereof is avoided, an apparatus embodying the in vention being entirely automatic in` its oper,- ation. v i

One object 'of the invention is to provide an electrically operated device for ,turning the rims and more particularly t0` provide magnetized members for engaging the rirns to grip them'and cause them to drag on the conveyor hooks on which they are suspended and to provide automatic means for/demagnetizing ,the membersv to release the rims after the fdesired degree of turn has been Theoregoin'g and ,other objects are obl tained/by the' structure illustrated` in the "accompanying drawings and describedv beis not limited to the speci-tic construction shown and described.

Of the accompanyingdrawings:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a portion of the plating system and illustratinga device constructed according to the invention mounted for operation therein; igure 2 is a transverse sectionthrough a portion of the system; I

Figure 3 diagrammatically illustratesthe electrical connections; and

I vFigure 4 is a detail illustrati-ng the manner of mounting the magnetic turn-over device.

Figure 5 is an enlarged section on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, 10 is a suitablel tanky containing an electrolyte 11, anodes '12, 12 supported onrconductory rails 13, 13 so as to be suspended in the electrolyte 11. The articles to be plated, here represented as rims 14, 14 are suspended inthe solution on hooks 15, 15 arranged to be carried by a moving conveyor kchain 16, the rims being adapted to act as cathodes as by connecting hooks 15 by brushes or the like to a suitable conductor rail (not shown). l Arranged on brackets 17, 17 supported over tank 10 are'electromagnets 18, 18 suspended on insulated bushings 19 pivotally mounted on pintles 20, 20 securedin brackets 17s() as to overlie the path of the rims 14.

The lpoles 21, 21 ofthe magnets are pro-y vided with hinged ngers 22, 22 extending into the path of the rims through the tank andadapted to be engaged thereby.l .For normally; keeping the fingers 2 ,ma etized so as to orr1 rims comineinto engagement therewith the magnets 18 are supplied with electricity. through a switch 28`asiindicated in. Figure 3 normally kept closed by a spring 24. While the magnets are energized through the electricaLcon-f nections described, they will operate to grip each rim as it comes` in contact withy the.

nger'si ,21, and while each magnet is effective it willoperate as a drag upon the rim,

andy the continued movement of the conf veyor will cause the rim to be shifted upon l the ,hook without, however, destroying theelectrical contact between the rim andthe hok so. that the plating action is not interrupted.` After the conveyor has traveled for ya distance sufficient to cause the rim to be rotated, it is necessary to release the magnet which'may be accomplished by the operation of the switch 23. One means of doing this is by the mechanism which will now be described. Connected to the switch 23 by a link 25 is a lever 26 pivoted at 27 so as to extend into the path ofchain 16 and to be engaged by spaced members thereon, such,

for example, as transverse rods 29 forming partof the conveyor mechanism, the rods 29 on whichl the hooks 15 are suspended being adapted to engage ithe lever 26 in sucl cession to open switch 23 against the action of spring 24 and. thus demagnetize the 22, they are gripped and held. Due to the ytravel of the conveyor, the rims are dragged so as to rotate, to new positions onthe hooks,

this dragging and Irotating action continuing at each device until the rods 29 engage the levers 26 whereupon switches 23 are opened and the lingers 22 release the rims to continue their travel on the hooks.

It will benoted that in the form of the invention shown the rims are elevated at the turning station by a rise in the conveyor. This `is preferred so as to admit of easy mounting of the magnetic devices in the system but is not essential vto the operation. of the devices and the devices may be Aadapted to conveyor systems inwhich the rims are not elevated at the turnover stations.

Modifications of the invention may be resorted to without departing from, the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims. It will be noted that the turn-over device of the present invention operates without lifting the rims from the hooks. Accordingly, the plating action on the rim will be effective during the turning action.

This provides for a highly eicient, con\ tinuous "plating process.

What is claimed is: 'y

l. Anapparatus for electroplating annu lar -`objects, a `continuously moving conveyor, hooks upon the conveyor. from which the','articles are suspended in an electroplatl ing bath, and a devicetlfor engagin the upper part of an object land holding 1t for a period suiiicienttoA cause it to `drag over the hook to' a new position. ,i y'

2. An apparatus for electroplating rims comprising a continuously moving conveyor, a hook upon 'the conveyor from which a rim is suspended in an electroplating bath, and a device for engaging ,al rim and causing it to drag over the hook to a new p0- sition upon the hook without destroying the electrical contact between the hook and the 3. An apparatus for electroplating rims comprising a continuously moving conveyor, a hook upon the conveyor from which a rim is suspended in an electroplating bath, a device for engaging a rim and causing it to drag. over the hook to a new position upon the hook without destroying the electrical contact between the hook and the rim, and means for causing the device to release the rim.

4. An apparatus for electroplating rims comprising a continuously moving conveyor, a hook upon/the conveyor from which a rim. is suspended, andy means operating for Tan interval of travel 'of the conveyor for dragging the rim over the hook without destroying the electrical contact between the hook ahd the rim..

5, Apparatus. for treating annular arti- ,cles comprising a' conveyor on which the articles are carried, and means for gripping the articles to turn the articles on the conveyor.

6. Apparatus for` treating annular arti- 'cles -comprisinga conveyor on which the articles are carried, electromagnetc mem-- bers adapted'to grip thearticles to effect a turning thereof on the conveyor, and means for demagnetizin .the members after the desired turning is e' ected.

9. Apparatus for treating annular articles comprising a,l conveyoron which the articles are carried, electromagnetic memf` bers adapted to gripthe articles to effect a turning thereof on the conveyor, and means operable by the conveyor for demagnetizing the members after the desired turning is effected.

l0. Apparatus for plating annular articles comprising a tank for an electrolyte, a conveyor passing over the tank, means for lsuspending the articles on the conve or so as to conduct .them through the e ectrolyte, and electromagnetic gripping means for engaging the articles and holding the articles so as to rotate them to new positions on the suspending means.

11. Apparatus for plating annular' articles comprising a tank for an electrolyte, a conveyor passing over the tank, means for suspendinor the articles on the conveyor so as'to contuct them through the electrolyte',

aoy

and electromagnetic gripping means for en- Lugares comprising means for conveying annular articles, and an electromagnet, including a pole projecting into the path of the articles to grip and hold the same to eect a rotation thereof on the conveying means.

13. A device of the character described comprising means for conveyingannular` articles, and an electromagnet, including a pole projecting into the path of the articles tol grip and hold the same to eect a rotation thereofonthe conveying means, said pole being adapted to ride over the articles when deniagnetized. l

141-. A device. of the character described comprising means for conveying 'annular articles, andan electromagnet, including a pole projecting into the path of the articles to grip and hold the same to effect a rotation thereof on the conveying means', said pole being 4,pivoteol so. as to be suspended in the path of the article. l

15. A device of the character described comprising 'means' for conveying annular articles, and. an electromagnet, including a pole projecting into the path of the articles to grip and hold the same to eiect a rotation thereof onl the conveying means, said eleotromagnet being normally energized but adapted tobe automatically deenergized to release the articles.. i

16. Apparatus of the classy described said apparatus comprising a conveyor for carrying articles, electromagnetic means knormally energized to grip articles carried onl the conveyor, and means for deenergizing theelectromagnetic means to realease the articles.

17. Apparatus of the class described said apparatus comprising a conveyor forA carrying articles, electromagnetic means normally energized to grip articles carried on the conveyor, and means for deenergizing the electromagnetic means to release the articles, said means including a switch controlled by the conveyor.

18. Apparatus of the class described said apparatus comprising a conveyor for carrying articles, electromagnetic means normal y energized to grip articles carried on the con-- f 19. Apparatus of the class described said apparatus comprising a conveyorofor carrying artlcles, electromagnetic means normally energized to grip articles carried on the-conveyor, and meansfor` deenergizing the electromagnetic means to release the articles, said means includinga switch, yieldinfr means normally closing the switch, anv

means on the conveyor for opening the switch against the action of the yielding.

means.

20. Apparatus-for plating rims including a plating-tank, a conveyor for carrying rims through the tank, and means for gripping the rims in succession to reposition them on the conveyor. f A

21. Apparatus for plating rims including a plating tank, a conveyor for carrying rims through the tank, and means for gripping the rims in succession to reposition them on the` conveyor and then releasing the rims for travel with the conveyor.

22. Apparatus for plating rims including a plating tank, a conveyor for carrying rims through the tank, and means for grip-- ping the rims in succession whereby movenient of the conveyor relative to the rim Will efectla repositioning of the rim thereon.

23. Apparatus for plating 'rims including a plating tank, a conveyor for carrying rims through the tank, and lmeans for gripping.

the rims in succession' `Whereb movement of the conveyor relative to the rim will elect a repositionin of the r'im thereon, said means being a apted to subsequently release the rim.

. .WINTHROP W. BENNER. 

